Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is conducting a phase I clinical trial to test the safety of direct intratumoral injection of an oncolytic Herpes simplex virus in patients age 13-30 years old with relapsed or refractory solid tumors (excluding brain tumors).

The use of viruses to infect and kill cancer cells is gaining renewed interest in the scientific and medical communites. Attenuated versions of Herpes viruses have been tested for safety in patients with brain tumors, melanoma, colon cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma as described in the following article: "On the Horizon: Gene and Virus Therapies for Sarcomas."

The ongoing trial at Cincinnati involves injecting the HSV1716 virus (Seprehvir) directly into sarcomas and other solid tumors, with the idea that it may replicate in and destroy tumor cells. For technical reasons, the tumor to be injected must be at least 1.8 centimeters and accessible by the interventional radiologists.

Because it is a local treatment, ideal subjects are those with unresectable local relapse for whom chemotherapy, surgery and/or irradiation are not curative options. Subjects with metastatic disease are also eligible because up to 3 more sites can be injected if the first site shows a response, and in animal studies the virus induces an immune response that can shrink uninjected tumors.

I just wanted to let you know about a special issue of the journal Sarcoma, which will be focused on the molecular basis of sarcoma. Here's a link to the call-for-papers. Please consider sending either original work or review articles in consideration for publication. This is a particularly nice opportunity to have a graduate student, postdoc, resident, fellow, or other trainee review an area of interest under mentorship for publication.

Also, feel free to forward this email to any of your colleagues who might be interested in such an opportunity.